Cancers associated with diabetes are preventable: Expert

Exercise can help diabetics (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)CHENNAI: There is a strong bond between cancer, blindness and diabetes. The incidence of liver, pancreas and endometrium cancers is two times higher in people with diabetes, said diabetologist Dr Vijay Viswanathan.

During the Founder's Day celebrations at M V Hospital for Diabetes on Wednesday, he said, "Breast cancer and bladder cancer are also 1.5 to two times more common in people with diabetes. A holistic approach by doctors, a healthy diet and physical exercise can reduce the risk of cancers where diabetes and cancer are associated."

Dr V Shanta of Cancer Institute, who released a booklet on cancer, blindness and diabetes, said the goal in healthcare should be increasing accessibility, affordability and equitability. "In the case of cancer, treatment costs have become very high as the knowledge for curability has increased. So the focus should be on prevention rather than cure," she said. The oncology expert said cancers associated with diabetes and eye care were mostly preventable.

Pointing out that cancer was growing by 1% annually; Dr Shanta said early diagnosis was imperative. "With the current trend being focus on molecular biology and diagnosis, very soon we will be looking at a genomic era where treatment for cancer will become more personalised," she said. Apart from making treatment affordable, the focus should be on improving the quality of life of people with cancer as survival was not the end point.

Health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, who presided over the function, said the state government's focus was on creating a society free of disease. "The government is working on making healthcare accessible to all," he said.

Dr P Namperumal of Arvind Eye Hospitals in Madurai was honoured with the Prof M Viswanathan 'Selfless Service Award' on the occasion. The award for outstanding social service was given to N Paul Sunder Singh, the founder director of Karunalaya.